RAY MASSEY Vauxhall adds a mocha to its menu

While we are enjoying an Easter weekend with chocolate, the British Vauxhall has just added a new mocha with a coffee sound to its range.

But unlike bamboozling coffee menus, there’s an easy choice of three Easter bonnets: gasoline, diesel, or all-electric, with prices starting at £ 20,735.

They all sport Vauxhall’s sharp new V-shaped “Vizor” face – and the aerodynamic design reduces drag at highway speeds by 16 percent.

This week I drove around urban Coventry and leafy Warwickshire on well-equipped petrol and electric variants.

I tried the new Mocha SRi Nav Premium petrol version first, which costs £ 27,450 (£ 27,770 with the addition of white jade color).

Powered by a lively turbo-charged 1.2-liter 3-cylinder 130 horsepower gasoline engine mated to an agile eight-speed automatic transmission, it feels taut and snappy around town and drives well on freeways and accelerates in 9 2 seconds from rest to 60 mph to a top speed of 124 mph.

For extra engagement, you can play up and down on the manual paddles. It has an economical fuel efficiency with an average of up to 47.9 km / h and CO2 emissions of 137 g / km.

There’s also a 100-horsepower version, and both come with a six-speed manual transmission.

But I got my really energizing caffeine hit from the all-electric 136 hp Vauxhall e-Mocha in a bright, meaningful shade called Mamba Green, complemented by a black roof.

Driven by a 100 kW electric motor and a 50 kW lithium-ion battery, it flies with you and feels very manoeuvrable. It accelerates to 60 mph in 8.7 seconds to a top speed of 93 mph with zero emissions.

You can choose between the driving modes Eco, Normal and Sport – I was mainly in the most exciting sport. It has a claimed range of 201 miles.

You pay an Elite Nav Premium Electric Premium of £ 32,730 (including £ 2,500 plug-in car allowance) with my car, of which £ 650 was for metallic paints.

There are seven trim levels for the Mocha from £ 20,735 and four for the electric e-Mocha from £ 30,840.

Aside from running quietly and charging instead of refueling, the driving experience behind the wheel is pretty much the same as the electric version.

No new buttons and knobs to master or intimidate. Digital touch screens are easy to navigate.

Pressing a simple rocker switch takes you from park to drive or reverse.

Pressing the B button increases braking resistance, slowing down creates more charge, and allows you to ride one foot without touching the brakes.

It has a little less space on the back due to the batteries and wiring, which reduces the 350’s petrol version by 40 liters to 310 liters.

With the rear seats pulled down, this value increases to 1060 liters (1105 liters for petrol).

The new car is 124mm shorter, 10mm wider and has a slightly longer wheelbase (2mm), which gives it a sportier and more dynamic stance. It’s also 120 kg lighter.

It takes 7 hours and 35 minutes or 5 hours and 5 minutes to fully charge a 7 kW domestic wall box in a 22 kW public charger.

However, an 80 percent boost takes 45 minutes for a 50 kW fast charger (30 minutes for a 100 kW charger).

There’s still a place for diesel with a 1.5 liter 110 hp engine and a six-speed manual gearbox up to 65.7 MPg and CO2 emissions of 114 g / km.

POLESTAR DELIVERS FOOD CRATES THAT ARE REQUIRED

Ahead of the showrooms reopening on April 12, Swedish electric car maker Polestar delivered 325 boxes of food – enough to supply 10,000 meals – in need during the pandemic.

The boxes were shipped and filled to journalists, celebrities including Dynasty actress Emma Samms, and the public after the company launched a #NoWasteofSpace lockdown campaign while the new showroom in Manchester was down.

Contribution: Polestar Manchester is supplying the boxes to local food bank hubs in Fareshare UK for wider distribution

Polestar Manchester Space in the city’s Trafford Center is a modern, hassle-free alternative to traditional car dealerships with unauthorized employees.

Inspired by Marcus Rashford’s documentary “Feeding Britain’s Children”, Polestar Manchester is delivering the boxes to Fareshare UK’s local food bank hubs for further distribution.

Donated food packages are delivered by a fleet of ten Polestar 2 fastback electric cars (costs from £ 49,900 and available online at polestar.com) that would otherwise be idle as test drives are prohibited during the lockdown.

Support came from Coventry-based van and taxi company LEVC. Both belong to the Chinese Geely Group.

The 325 # NoWasteofSpace boxes filled with non-perishable food and personal care products weighed 2.2 tons – and Polestar adjusted that to double the weight to 4.4 tons.

Jonathan Goodman, Head of Polestar UK, said: “We could never have imagined the incredible response from this campaign and the generosity of everyone who participated is truly heartwarming.”

ANNUAL ENGINE INSURANCE PREMIUMS CASE

Annual car insurance premiums fell to an average of £ 652 in the first three months of this year – the lowest level since Fall 2015, says compareethemarket.com.

Premiums are down £ 55 qoq and £ 103 year-over-year, accelerated by lockdowns and fewer claims.

Have fun driving: premiums are down £ 55 qoq and £ 103 year-over-year, accelerated by lockdowns and fewer claims

The cheapest available rewards have also fallen to £ 560. from £ 627 in the same period last year.

Motorists could save an average of £ 92 by switching to a better deal, increasing to £ 185 for young drivers under 25 who still have to pay £ 1,097.

Dan Hutson, Head of Auto Insurance at compare themarket.com, said: ‘Drivers will be thrilled to see auto insurance costs fell in the first quarter of this year. The decline in insurance claims appears to be affecting premium costs. ‘